Latest news with #Mbenenge
The Citizen
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Citizen
Wrap of Mbenenge tribunal: Judge awaits his fate
The tribunal will reconvene in October for oral arguments over sexual harassment claim. In perhaps one of the most contentious hearings against a judge, with witnesses contradicting each other, the Judicial Conduct Tribunal started the year with a hearing that seeks to determine whether Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge sexually harassed the secretary for the judges, Andiswa Mengo. The Tribunal, comprising Judge B M Ngoepe, retired Judge-President of the Gauteng Division of the High Court, Tribunal President, and Judge C Pretorius, retired Judge of the Gauteng Division of the High Court and Advocate G Mashaba SC, as a non-judicial member of the Tribunal, commenced in January and is expected to resume again in October. Mengo's accusations Mengo lodged a complaint against Mbenenge, accusing him of sexual harassment after he allegedly persistently asked her to send him explicit images and also sent him his in exchange. In her testimony, Mengo told the Tribunal she found these requests for pictures 'annoying' and felt that he was forcing her to send them. She accused him of sexually harassing her through messages on WhatsApp, inappropriate comments, gestures regarding her appearance, and another incident that occurred in his chambers in November 2022. She also claimed he sent her an image of his penis, which was subsequently deleted on the evening of 17 June 2021. The complainant told the Tribunal it showed 'his private part with hair the same colour as his hair on his head'. He also allegedly sent her pornographic pictures. ALSO READ: 'How will Mbenenge defend himself?' Tribunal chair asks evidence leader during tense proceedings Mengo has accused the judge of asking her if she was aware of the effect she had on him as he pointed towards the front of his pants. She told the Tribunal that there was a bulge in his pants and that he was fiddling with his zip. 'He asked me if I didn't want to suck it,' she previously told the Tribunal. This incident is reported to have occurred on 14 November 2022, after he summoned her into his chambers at the Umtata High Court. Mbenenge's defence The judge has claimed that the sexual interactions between him and Mengo were consensual. Mengo, however, told the Tribunal that she reciprocated Mbenenge's sexual messages to 'satisfy him in order for peace at the workplace'. Mbenenge, the first senior judge in the country to risk impeachment for sexual misconduct, has also denied sending an image of his penis. 'In light of what you are saying, I am saying to you, the persistence in saying I sent K8 [penis] is crystal lies and in the direction of being malicious,' argued Mbenenge. He argued that he was trying to pursue a romantic relationship, but there was no clear guide on how to do so. Although he admitted to asking her to remove her jacket, he denied that the request was indecent. 'I wanted her to remove her jacket because I wanted to appreciate her appearance. It was obstructing my view of how she looked,' Mbenenge said, with hand gestures painting her figure. 'Reinforcement' The witnesses called to testify at the Tribunal muddied the matter, as some seemed to suggest that Mengo was a willing participant in the conversations, while others stated that she was not. In May, forensic and legal linguist Dr Zakeera Docrat testified that some of the emojis used by Mengo in her conversations with Mbenenge suggested 'agreement' and 'warmth'. ALSO READ: Did she mean it or not? Analysis of Mengo's WhatsApp messages to Judge Mbenenge questioned She testified that the exchanges between Mbenenge and Mengo started professionally but slowly degenerated with the use of emojis to 'convey sexual acts'. Mengo sent a 'monkey's closing its eyes' emoji. Docrat said this emoji represents 'reinforcement'. 'Reinforcement because she's used it more than once, even though there's no text. But based on the text chain that was unravelling, and in that instance, her shyness on her part, embarrassment.' 'Not much mutuality' In June, gender violence expert Dr Lisa Vetten testified that there was not much mutuality in the WhatsApp message exchanges between Mengo and Mbenenge. 'I looked at who initiated the conversation, how many conversations were sent by the Judge President, and by Mengo. I used that as an indication of who is initiating the conversation and who is more active in the conversation, and it gives you a sense of who is asking more often and engaging more often. It gives you an indication of who is the more interested party. I counted 837 WhatsApp messages, 526 from the Judge, and 311 from Mengo,' said Vetten. Eastern Cape High Court judge's secretary Andiswa Mengo gives testimony before the Judicial Conduct Tribunal. Picture: X / @OCJ_RSA Mengo's unclear responses, according to Vetten, were her way of evading Mbenenge's advances. Vetten said while Mbenenge used emojis to ask for things from Mengo, she used evasion to avoid direct responses to his advances. Did he send explicit images? Another witness, Dr Vincent Mello, in July questioned the format of some of the photos allegedly sent by Mbenenge to Mengo. He was asked to assess the usage of emojis and the disputed pictures allegedly exchanged between the two. Mello said some of the pictures were inconsistent with the WhatsApp format. 'Based on my analysis, it is clear that the photos are below the typing message area, and they depict as though the message was still being compiled, and possibly, it was a screenshot taken. A message that would have been sent would have had the ticks, but I didn't see them as I expected. The photos are not consistent with the WhatsApp template or indicate that they were sent,' said Mello. 'The photo [of Mbenenge's private part] cannot be confirmed if it was from WhatsApp since it is not consistent with the WhatsApp template or format. You don't see the name, followed by a typing space.' ALSO READ: Did Judge Mbenenge send Mengo explicit pictures? Expert testifies 'He does it to everyone' Another witness, Mbenenge's former secretary, Zinhle Nqkayi, in July, told the Tribunal Mbenenge used to comment on everyone's outfits at work, not just Mengo's. 'It was in the morning, I think around teatime. One of the judges' secretaries arrived in my office, and the JP [Mbenenge] was in his office at the time. The JP came out, and he stood by the door that interlinks our offices,' said Nqkayi. 'Mengo was passing by while the JP was having a conversation with Ms Gugushe, asking how she was. Mengo passed by and greeted me, and the JP called her, and she came into my office. The JP then uttered a statement, exclaimed and said, 'What is it, big girl? Why are you wearing a curtain today?' He then went further on to say, 'Do you see how other children are dressed well?' He was referring to Ms Gugushe and me as we were standing by my table.' ALSO READ: Mbenenge commented on everyone's outfits, not just Mengo's, says former secretary Advocate Griffiths Madonsela, for Mbenenge, asked Nqkayi: 'Was it usual for the judge to raise such issues?' 'Yes, that is his daily talk. Yes, he is like that; he would even pass this comment to a lawyer who would be coming into his office. The first thing he will notice is how that particular person is dressed, even with me; he will notice when I walk into the office and ask me, 'Haibo, big girl, are you awake? Why do you still seem to be dressed in your sleepwear?' Nkqayi responded. The Tribunal will reconvene on 21 and 22 October 2025 for oral arguments. After hearing all the evidence, the Tribunal will decide whether to recommend to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) that Mbenenge is guilty of gross misconduct.
Daily Maverick
6 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Mbenenge's sexual harassment hearing exposes ripples of discontent in SA's legal profession
Behind the scenes, a rift has occurred in the Pan African Bar Association of South Africa (Pabasa), highlighting the notion of the law as 'apolitical' as understood by a crop of younger members. Last week, the gruelling Judicial Conduct Tribunal investigation into allegations of sexual harassment against Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge adjourned to October for argument. It is then that advocates Muzi Sikhakhane for Mbenenge, and Nasreen Rajab-Budlender for the complainant, court secretary Andiswa Mengo, will argue the case of a lifetime. The public inquiry, which began in January and is headed by retired judge Bernard Ngoepe, has not only laid bare the intimate and private lives of Mbenenge and his accuser, but also choppy waters in the legal fraternity (for it is a fraternity) itself. The creaking shifts in the tectonic plates can be traced in the arc of this extraordinary inquiry, which exposed a chasm between old and new, interpretations of language, the law and culture, and the meaning of words themselves. As the Masimanyane Women's Rights International, the Women's Ikhwelo Network and other women's groups noted in a media statement last week, 'words have power — and consequences. 'We are appalled by the misogynistic and patriarchal statements made by Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge during his sexual harassment tribunal.' The senior judge's 'invocation of so-called 'cultural norms' to justify sexual misconduct is an affront not only to women but to the integrity of the entire South African Constitution and the judiciary,' the statement continued. Rift in Pabasa Behind the scenes, a rift has occurred in the Pan African Bar Association of South Africa (Pabasa), highlighting the notion of the law as 'apolitical' as understood by a crop of younger members. As reported by Franny Rabkin in the Sunday Times, Rajab-Budlender, Mengo's legal representative in the Mbenenge matter and a founder member of Pabasa, resigned from the organisation at the end of May. Nine other members resigned at the same time. Dali Mpofu is Pabasa secretary, and former Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions Nomgcobo Jiba (who was struck off the roll in 2016 but restored in 2019), is its deputy chair. Formed in 2018, Pabasa describes itself as 'unapologetically black and women-oriented'. It is also 'committed to independence, professionalism and excellence in the craft of advocacy and the promotion of race and gender equality'. Its aim is also to work with other bars and the Legal Practice Council (LPC) to address unemployment among young graduates. Attacks by Pabasa members on Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng — who presided over the Senzo Meyiwa trial — and on the LPC had since led to the exodus. Mokgoatlheng made remarks about white lawyers not being late. Since then, 36 advocates have left Pabasa, including the Arcadia and Loftus advocates' chambers in Pretoria, citing the 'politicisation' of Pabasa as the reason. Rabkin reported that a total of 45 members had resigned from other regions as well. Sikhakhane, Mbenenge's legal representative, is also a member of Pabasa and was its first chair. His encouragement of women within the organisation is acknowledged. 'Deep concern' Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi penned a powerful counter to the argument by Mbenenge and his legal team that customary courtship rituals were being rendered 'unconstitutional' by the tribunal. When renowned gender-based violence expert Lisa Vetten pointed out that power imbalances between men and women existed in all societies, she was undermined as a simpleton who had no understanding of African ways. Vetten has been attacked by some of Mbenenge's supporters as a 'Western-paid NGO', which is also no doubt part of the Pizza Conspiracy. Zibi's argument, as a young black African man, as we like to say in South Africa, carries weight, no matter how much some might claim his mind has been 'colonised' or 'whitewashed'. Zibi, who heads the Scopa committee in Parliament, sets out how power relations play out here and in other government spaces where some are viewed as having authority. The kind of deference he experienced was unsettling, he opined, and it took some time to work through these power relations. With regard to cultural impulses that cannot be stopped or controlled, he wrote: 'I hope the Judicial Conduct Tribunal … does not buy this nonsense. 'Yet, this is what Judge President Mbenenge implausibly suggested before the tribunal. This laughable proposition, said with much glee, arrogance and a nauseatingly sexist intellectual superiority complex in respect of the (female) evidence leader (and his own counsel), seems to suppose the rest of us live in the world he has created in his head. 'This is the world where the most powerful individual in every high court building in the Eastern Cape is an equal to a junior secretary for the purposes of random sexual advances via text message.' Zibi also took exception to Mbenenge's insistence on asking for nude photographs even when Mengo had informed him she was not well (as has been testified), and his invocation of culture 'where it is apparently fine for a grey-haired church elder to ask a woman young enough to be his daughter to take off her clothes and send him a revealing picture'. DM
Daily Maverick
7 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Judge Mbenenge's conduct at tribunal sends chilling message to women in SA workplaces
Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge weaponised culture to justify and excuse harassment, thereby revealing contempt for women's rights and reinforcing the very systems that silence survivors. Masimanyane Women's Rights International, the Women's Ikhwelo Network and women's groups nationwide are appalled by the misogynistic and patriarchal statements made by Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge during his sexual harassment tribunal. We note the lack of accountability for the harm that has been done, not just to the complainant but to women across South Africa. Gender inequality is a key feature of the tribunal and is being perpetuated by the accused and his legal team. This case is a vivid display of patriarchy, with the power dynamics favouring the judge and dehumanising and humiliating the complainant. We call for an end to the culture of sexual harassment in South Africa's legal system and our society as a whole. Mbenenge's contemptuous dismissal of the complainant and invocation of 'cultural norms' to justify sexual misconduct are an affront not only to women but to the integrity of the Constitution and the judiciary. His actions violate the core values enshrined in the Constitution, the Judicial Service Commission Act and international commitments such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Culture can never be a defence for conduct that amounts to gender-based violence and workplace misconduct, as espoused in Convention 190 of the International Labour Organization, to which South Africa is a signatory. Instead of showing accountability, Mbenenge weaponised culture to justify and excuse harassment, thereby revealing contempt for women's rights and reinforcing the very systems that silence survivors. This is one of the key drivers of gender-based violence in South Africa. Invoking culture to excuse misconduct reinforces harmful gender norms and misuses heritage to shield perpetrators from accountability. The judge's conduct has led to secondary victimisation of the complainant, where institutions and processes re-traumatise survivors rather than protect them, with their ordeal played out publicly on international platforms, including YouTube — which has garnered almost 3,000 views per day — as well as to millions of viewers on television. Relentless trauma This subjects the complainant to continued, relentless trauma and humiliation. This is part of a documented and persistent culture of sexual harassment and gender-based misconduct festering within the legal profession and our society. The fact that it emanates from the highest level of the judiciary in the Eastern Cape makes it so much more heinous. We have noted with concern that precedents set by past judicial scandals, such as the Nkola Motata matter and numerous complaints reported to the Legal Practice Council, expose a sector deeply resistant to accountability. In the matter of Gaga v Anglo Platinum Limited, the Supreme Court of Appeal placed the following premium on how a manager or person in authority in the workplace should conduct themselves: 'The rule against sexual harassment targets, amongst other things, reprehensible expressions of misplaced authority by superiors towards their subordinates. The fact that the subordinate may be present as ambivalent, or even momentarily flattered by the attention, is no excuse; particularly where at some stage in an ongoing situation she signals her discomfort. If not initial behaviour, then, at the very least, the persistence therein is unacceptable.' Arrogance This case law indicates the responsibility that falls upon a senior manager in workplace situations and is critical to the review of this tribunal. This rot cannot continue. The arrogance displayed by the Judge President and his visible disdain for the complainant's rights constitute secondary victimisation and send a chilling message to women working within the legal system and nationally, that the very institutions meant to protect justice will become perpetrators of their abuse. South Africa is failing to address the pervasive levels of gender-based violence driven by gender inequality in our society. Women have had enough. To the legal community — judges, magistrates, attorneys, advocates, legal scholars, regulators — we issue this call to action: Demand fairness and justice in the disciplinary proceedings of the tribunal on the alleged sexual harassment currently under way. Silence equals complicity. Establish independent, transparent mechanisms to investigate sexual harassment claims in all sectors of the legal system and broader society. The judiciary cannot police itself. Overhaul codes of conduct to explicitly sanction and criminalise misogynistic speech and conduct by legal practitioners. Words have power — and consequences. Create safe reporting structures that protect complainants from retaliation and career sabotage. Survivors deserve justice without fear. Masimanyane Women's Rights International and the Women's Ikhwelo Network, supported by the women's movement nationally, stand in unwavering solidarity with all women who have endured sexual harassment and gender-based violence across all sectors. We refuse to allow patriarchal attitudes to remain entrenched in spaces where justice is expected to prevail. We urge every legal professional who claims to serve justice to act immediately. Root out this culture of impunity or stand exposed as enablers of misogyny and abuse. DM
Eyewitness News
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
Tribunal probing sexual harassment claims against Mbenenge reconvenes October for oral arguments
JOHANNESBURG - The Judicial Conduct Tribunal investigating allegations of sexual harassment against Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge will reconvene on 21 and 22 October for oral arguments. The fact-finding body adjourned on Thursday after evidence leader, Advocate Salome Scheepers concluded with her cross-examination of the top judge. ALSO READ: - Evidence leader says there's not enough proof to suggest Mbenenge didn't try to expose his penis to Mengo - Mbenenge accuses Mengo of lying to Judicial Conduct Tribunal - Mbenenge testifies syringe emoji sent to Mengo was medical after conceding it could be viewed sexually Mbenenge is accused of making unwanted sexual advances towards High Court secretary Andiswa Mengo between 2021 and 2022. The judge president denies this and said he was gutted that the junior staffer posted their sexual conversations on her status on social media platform WhatsApp. In 2022, after several months of exchanging messages with Mbenenge, Mengo posted her sultry messages with the senior judge on her status on WhatsApp. The splash caused murmurs within the corridors of the Eastern Cape High Court, with Mengo then proposing a roundtable with some of the division's judges to discuss the matter. However, Mbenenge pulled out of the suggested meeting, something Scheepers questioned. 'I said I could never, in my sound and sober senses, attend a meeting where I'm going to be confronted with pictures that I say I never transmitted to the complainant, and thanks God I did not,' Mbenenge said. Scheepers replied, 'That was just a normal question. I don't know why you are so defensive. This tribunal has not heard your version. We only heard the version from Mr Krokwana and the complainant. That's why I afforded you the opportunity. Why did you cancel it?' Scheepers asked Mbenenge why he did not pursue any other means for reconciliation. The judge president testified that he tried calling the complainant, only to discover that he had been blocked and then reached out to her close allies to appeal to her. Now that Scheepers has concluded with her cross-examination and there was no re-examination by Mbenenge's legal counsel, the parties will gather again three months from now before the tribunal considers the evidence before it.
Daily Maverick
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
‘This is highly malicious' — Mbenenge lashes out at evidence leader
The cross-examination of a visibly irritated Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge finally concluded on Thursday. Just before 10am on Thursday, 10 July, Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge stepped away from four days of gruelling cross-examination by evidence leader, advocate Salomé Scheepers. It was the battle of a lifetime for the 64-year-old head of the division, accused of sexually harassing court secretary Andiswa Mengo, now 44. For this last day, Mbenenge wore a yellow, striped tie, perhaps hoping to inject some warmth into what has otherwise been a bleak and ruthless exposure of his private life as well as that of his accuser. Scheepers did not hold back. Neither has Mbenenge's formidable legal counsel, advocates Muzi Sikhakhane and Griffiths Madonsela, in defending their client, who has maintained the communication was 'consensual'. Visible irritation As a judge, Mbenenge is used to calling the shots and has been rattled by Scheepers's insistence on treating him like any other witness, asking him to reply succinctly and calling him out. So far, the JP has accused Mengo of lying, labelled her a 'trickster' and even suggested to the tribunal on Tuesday that someone else might have been behind her complaint as Mengo 'did not have the skills to do so'. 'I can't help thinking that the complainant could not have done this completely alone,' he said. On Thursday, shortly before Scheepers completed her cross-examination, Mbenenge complained several times to the tribunal chair, retired Judge Bernard Ngoepe, that her continued questioning about a specific WhatsApp image 'is becoming highly malicious'. While it is true, as Mbenenge pointed out on Wednesday, that not every single word or message that passed between him and Mengo has been entered as evidence at his tribunal, the bulk of it is there. These were messages, he said, which clearly indicated what he believed to be Mengo's encouraging response to his persistent advances, which he has not denied. Scheepers reminded Mbenenge that it was difficult to track times and dates correctly because his cellphone had been wiped clean, but that Mengo had saved messages. These were later retrieved by forensic cellphone expert Francois Möller, who had access to both phones during the inquiry. 'I was not there' Mbenenge has gone to great lengths to prove he was not in his office on the afternoon of 15 November, the day Mengo claims he called her in and made a lewd suggestion. He said that not only could security log books and his car tracker verify where he was, but a case he heard proved this conclusively. He then read out to the tribunal a highly controversial matter heard in Gqeberha between the Sustaining the Wild Coast NPC and the minister of mineral resources. 'This surely shows I was not in Makhanda and could not have been in my office on the day the complainant accuses me of this,' said Mbenenge. What about the footage? When Scheepers did not relent and quizzed Mbenenge on the 'missing' CCTV footage of the corridors that day, suggesting that his secretary had also not been at her desk the entire day, he responded: 'Chair, that this is persisted and for the 200th time, it is malicious.' Scheepers continued: 'Regardless of the reliance on the tracker to prove your general whereabouts, this does not say the incident did not occur.' 'Your proposition fails!' Mbenenge shot back, clearly irritated. 'I say your persistence is malicious and I deny what you are suggesting. You can repeat it 100 times, I am not going to change my version,' he said. 'It did not happen, it did not happen! It is demonstrably clear it did not happen!' the judge president insisted. Scheepers announced to the tribunal just before 10am that she had completed her cross-examination. Ngoepe immediately adjourned the proceedings while a visibly relieved Mbenenge stepped down.
